Archived Agendas (2014)

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Agenda Day 13 (March 4)

  • Assignment:
    • Explore Dr. Lamadrid's "Mi Romancero" wiki (link) - this was the wiki for a Graduate Seminar that focused on ballads and romantic ballads (Corridos y Romances) in Spain and the new world (mainly New Mexico).
    • Follow this link and check out the Smithsonian "Corridos Sin Fronteras" website.
    • Begin reading this article:
    • Lamadrid-Sentimiento Trágico.pdf
      for Thursday (3/6)
  • Brief Reports:
    • Anthony Thompson
    • Alexa Argyres
  • For Thursday (3/6) read
  • Reschedule Thursday Brief Presentations: Victoria Woods,Anthony Thompson
  • Further preparation for Thursday Guest Dr. Enrique Lamadrid

Agenda Day 12 (Feb 27)

  • Brief reports Alex Cochran, Alena Schlacter (terrific performances, by the way)
  • For Alex (right click to download)
The Minstrel Boy (performed by Bardic)
  • Exploration of four songs about the Titanic disaster

Agenda- Day 11 (Feb 25)

  • Brief Reports Joseph Wilkinson Alexa Argyres
  • Project Proposals Due March 11 - discuss
  • Research pathways

Agenda- Day 10 (Feb 20)

Instructor Introductions, comments:
  • Ann Adams - BSE
  • Brief Reports
  • Alyssa G., Alena S.
  • Psychological Analysis:

kinghenry-martincarthy.doc



Down In a Willow Garden.doc

Agenda – Day seven:



Agenda – Day six

· Assignments: Odyssey
· Jan. 28 - Books 1,5,9, 10 Jan 30 - Books 11-13 ,16 Feb 4 - 19, 22,24, Introduction



Agenda – Day five

Accidental Racist
Brad Paisley, featuring L.L. Cool J.

To the man that waited on me at the Starbucks down on Main,
I hope you understand
When I put on that t-shirt, the only thing I meant to say
is I'm a Skynyrd fan
The red flag on my chest somehow is like
the elephant in the corner of the south
And I just walked him right in the room
Just a proud rebel son with an 'ol can of worms
Lookin' like I got a lot to learn
but from my point of view

I'm just a white man comin' to you from the southland
Tryin' to understand what it's like not to be
I'm proud of where I'm from
but not everything we've done
And it ain't like you and me can re-write history
Our generation didn't start this nation
We're still pickin' up the pieces, walkin' on eggshells, fightin' over yesterday
And caught between southern pride and southern blame

They called it Reconstruction,
fixed the buildings, dried some tears
We're still siftin' through the rubble
after a hundred-fifty years
I try to put myself in your shoes
and that's a good place to begin
But it ain't like I can walk a mile in someone else's skin

'Cause I'm a white man livin' in the southland
Just like you I'm more than what you see
I'm proud of where I'm from
but not everything we've done
And it ain't like you and me can re-write history
Our generation didn't start this nation
And we're still paying for the mistakes
That a bunch of folks made long before we came
And caught between southern pride and southern blame

Dear Mr. White Man, I wish you understood
What the world is really like when you're livin' in the hood
Just because my pants are sagging
' doesn't mean I'm up to no good
You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would
Now my chains are gold but I'm still misunderstood
I wasn't there when Sherman's March
turned the south into firewood
I want you to get paid but be a slave I never could
Feel like a new fangled Django,
dodgin' invisible white hoods

So when I see that white cowboy hat,
I'm thinkin' it's not all good
I guess we're both guilty of judgin' the cover not the book
I'd love to buy you a beer, conversate and clear the air
But I see that red flag and I think you wish I wasn't here

I'm just a white man
(If you don't judge my do-rag)
Comin' to you from the southland
(I won't judge your red flag)
Tryin' to understand what it's like not to be
I'm proud of where I'm from
(If you don't judge my gold chains)
But not everything we've done
(I'll forget the iron chains)
It ain't like you and me can re-write history
(Can't re-write history baby)

Oh, Dixieland
(The relationship between the Mason-Dixon
needs some fixin')
I hope you understand what this is all about
(Quite frankly I'm a black Yankee
but I've been thinkin' about this lately)
I'm a son of the new south
(The past is the past, you feel me)
And I just want to make things right
(Let bygones be bygones)
Where all that's left is southern pride
(RIP Robert E. Lee but I've gotta thank Abraham Lincoln
for freeing me, know what I mean)
It's real, it's real
It's truth


  • Odyssey Discussion – deferred until Thursday
  • Assignments: Odyssey
    • Jan. 28 - Books 1,5,9, 10 Jan 30 - Books 11-13 ,16 Feb 4 - 19, 22,24, Introduction



Agenda Day #4
  • Instructor Introductions, comments:
  • wiki /photos:
  • http://video.wnpt.org/video/2331456732/
  • “Geneology” of a song – song families
    • “answer” songs (Honky Tonk Angels)
    • Songs that follow a character (Shine, Oueen Victoria, Stagger Lee)
    • Songs that address the same historical event (The Titanic)

  • Connecting analysis with location and cultural features
    • o Analysis –
      • Feature – simple noting down of shared elements
      • Literary - looking at metaphors, meanings, POV, dialogue and other literary feature
  • o Cultural/historical context – research implied, rather than assumption
  • o Example: “Stewball”
  • Assignments: Odyssey
    • Jan. 28- Books 1,5,9, 10Jan 30-Books 11-13 ,16 Feb 4 -19, 22,24, Introduction
  • Odyssey Discussion

§ Many songs do not tell stories but often have narrative elements such as a character or a conflict.


Agenda Day #3


  • Essentials of narrative - What is a story song?
    • Story songs are songs in which the focus is on the lyrics, and those lyrics tell a complete story—they do not merely describe an emotion or explain a situation
    • They may be found in any genre, though they are most common traditional ballads and the folk tradition and in country western music.
    • To tell a story, a song must contain a character and a series of events that make up a conflict.
    • The conflict is created by a character’s strong desire and the obstacles that prevent the fulfillment of this desire.
    • The basic story structure includes an exposition, in which the character is introduced and the situation explained; complications, in which the conflict escalates; a climax, at which point the action reaches its highest pitch and the outcome is decided, falling action or denouement that moves toward an ending, and a resolution that points toward what will happen in the future. In short stories and story songs, the denouement may be minimal or nonexistent.
    • “Poke Salad Annie” “Can’t Find my Way Home” “Good Day Sunshine”
    • Is “Get High” a story song?
    • Assignments: Odyssey
      • Jan. 28 - Books 1,5,9, 10 Jan 30 - Books 11-13 ,16 Feb 4 - 19, 22,24, Introduction

  • Odyssey Discussion

Agenda Day#2
  • Instructor Introductions, comments:
  • Chide people who have not joined the wiki - there are several – Mackenzie, Shadhan, Eiden, Victoria, Anthony
  • Photos Alexa A., Alex C., Alexandra L., Joseph W.
  • Introduce reading assignment: Essentials of narrative
  • A bit about the Odyssey – structure - begins with explanation of Odysseus situation on the island of Calypso& then takes up his son Telemachus story. Then back to Odysseus travels until he gets to Phaeacia there he tells his story & continues to Ithaca where he deals with the situation there.
  • Assignments
    • Jan. 28, 30, Feb 4 – Odyssey – Introduction, Books 1,5,9-13,16, 19, 22,24 (213 page total).
    • Completion of the hero’s journey example in song, “Isis”
      Isis.doc